MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS  Four candidates are seeking the council seat for District 14 in the election on 18 Oct.  Incumbent Ivan Doncaster of East Bay is challenged by Roy Jessome, Harold Shaheen and Ron McCarron of Big Pond Centre.
Don MacG

WINSTON'S CLASSIC CUTS  The CELTIC COLOURS event scheduled for the Big Pond Fire Hall, Sat., Oct. 11 was sold out in no time.  Two hundred tickets went on sale Sept.3.  The 'mostly fiddlers' concert will celebrate the times and music of Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald.  Dance to the music of Carl MacKenzie after the concert.

BOOKMOBILE  The bookmobile will be in Big Pond  on Wednesday, Oct.31, 11:30 am; Irish Vale, at 1:30 pm and in Irish Cove at 2:00pm.

VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT LADIES' AUXILIARY certificate draw winner was Danny MacLeod of Gabarus. It was sold by Hughie MacPherson.

HALIFAX  Plans are in the works for a Big Pond 'get together' in the Halifax area in the new year.  Stay tuned for more details.
Pauline Rooney

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Y'KNOT.Yup, he did it again (and again). Since last we met Y'Knot was run aground in the MacPhee Islands channel.  Less than a week later, a Saturday afternoon excursion extended into a nighttime toss on the Bras d'Or briny with 28 'Ponders' green, but hardly with envy.  This could go on to Christmas!

WHO IS WHERE:  September, in some ways, seems to be as significant a 'new year' as January 1. A new cycle begins, and many of us enter a new dimension of our lives. This is particularly true of younger people.  Here are some of the 'people' and 'cycles' of this year: Allison MacPherson began her university studies at Dal., brother Darryl his second year at UCCB and Derek is awaiting the call to the oil fields. Lindsay MacPhee is already planning her 'take home' list for Christmas from her second year at UCCB and Colleen MacInnis, adjusting to Sydney River, began studies at NSCC.  Jason MacNeil graduated from Riverview this year is joining the army. Amy Sampson has started at UCCB.  Roddie MacNeil and Harvie MacIsaac are at NSCC taking autobody. A 'kitchen tour' of the bus route with Malcie MacPhee tells of the younger ones. Jean Marie MacMillan and James Currie started school at East Bay. At the other end of their school trek, Jennifer Burrell, Jilian White, Jeff McCarron, Marie-Eve Ross, and Adam MacPhee are in their grad year at Riverview.  Amanda Mozvik, Meridith MacDonald, Richard Kaufman, are in grade eleven at Riverview; Ben Thibodeau is doing his eleven at the Academy .  Grade ones are: John Michael Currie, Dayna Nelder, and Nicole Pronk, all at East Bay. The largest group seems to be the grade nines: Matthew MacPhee, Hugh MacIsaac and Andrew MacPhee are at East Bay;  Krista Ross , Christine MacDonald and Audrey Burrell are at Malcolm Munroe. Angela MacPherson and David McCarron are in grade ten at Riverview while Angela Murphy is at Holy Angels.   Keith McCarron, and  Kegan White, are in three at East Bay and Mountain View respectively.  Grade fivers are Allison Nelder, Nicole MacLeod, twins Geraldine and Helen MacMillan , all at East Bay and Mallory White at Mountain View. Colin MacPherson, Megan MacLeod, Maury MacLeod, Natalie MacMillan make up the grade fours at East Bay. Trudy MacPherson is in grade two at East Bay, as is Cordilia MacLeod.  Will MacKeigan, Theresa MacMillan and Courtney MacLeod are in grade seven at Malcolm Munroe while the MacDonald twins, John and Joe are in seven at MacLennan. Jamie MacDonald is our only representative in grade six at MacLennan. This is an impressive list; if we have missed anyone or made a mistake please let the Times know for inclusion next issue.
 

MALCIE MacPHEE & DmacD
 

COUNCILLOR'S REPORT

Route 4 Update
Petitions circulated in  stores along Route 4  contain approximately 3000 signatures.  A number of tourists signed the petitions; they commented on the beauty of Cape Breton, the welcoming nature of the people, and the hazardous road conditions. Petitions have been copied, bound and  presented to the Transportation and Public Works Minister Don Downe,  MLA Alfie Mac Leod and the Cape Breton Board of Trade.  I have also spoken with  Premier Russell MacLellan about this situation and will meet with him in the near future on the subject. I spoke with Minister Downe on Wed., September 17 at the UNSM meeting.  He informed me that he and Tom Hackett, Director of Eastern Region, travelled Route 4 on Wednesday morning to survey the section of highway from the East Bay church to the Richmond County Line. He told me it costs $175,000 to repave one km of highway and $1million  to reconstruct a km of highway.  Minister Downe told me he will be making an announcement later this fall regarding paving projects in the area; however,  he could not give a definite commitment on the Route 4 situation.  Tartan Eagle Restaurant. I congratulate the Big Pond Area Residents for the excellent turnout at the Community Council meeting on August 25th when information regarding the Tartan Eagle Restaurant was clarified by the Community Council executive and Malcolm Gillis.  It is evident that this Restaurant is an excellent added attraction for Big Pond and travellers along Route 4.  I hope that the present difficulties will be resolved. Signs: Big Pond Center and Tara Nova. I have sent a letter to Claire Detheridge, Chair of the Planning Advisory Committee, asking her and the committee to look into reposting the Big Pond Center and Tara Nova signs.  She has since been in contact with the Development Dept. of the CBRM and this issue will be discussed at the next Planning Advisory meeting.  I am hopeful we will soon see these signs returned.

With respect Ivan Doncaster, Councillor District 14

ANGUS ANTHONY’S STORE – PART 2

Angus Anthony  moved his house down from the hill and near to the road around 1920.  That house forms the core of the present MacNeil building.

In the early forties  a new barn was built near the eastern property boundary and close to the highway.  Johnie Frank MacNeil cut the lumber on the Anthonys' land across Brack's Brook; Benny Martin and John Martin did the sawing at the MacNeils' Brothers mill on the Glengarry Road; and Big Frank MacNeil supervised the construction.  Now the move from hilltop to roadside was complete, although the old barn would remain on the hilltop for some time thereafter. By this time farming was fading from the picture as the store prospered, and in a few years the new barn  would be sold, taken apart and recycled.
About 1932, the land north of the road was sold to Pat Hagen and his wife, Margaret, who was Angus Anthony's sister.  Jack Hagen, Pat's grandson and heir, sold land to Alban and Theresa Thomas who built their home on it. When Jack died, his old house was torn down, the property was sold, and new homes have been built there by summer residents, the Melanson's, the Turcottes and the Walshes. In recent years a move was made back to the hill, when Tom and Mary Ormond built their cottage near the original site of the Anthony home.

Readers may be curious about the mail-contract side of the business.  For some years the Anthonys had the contract to carry the mail from Sydney to the Richmond County line.  A typical day went somewhat as follows.
The day starts very early in the morning, when Angus MacNeil, Angus Rory Hamish, steps out of a boarding house on Prince Street in Sydney and heads for the stable.  Angus was from Glengarry, from Mick the Postmaster's area.  One of his sisters is Flora, 'Bean Mhicheil Iain Bhan (the wife of Michael, son of fairhaired John{MacDonald})', a much beloved lady, a midwife who was present at many a birth in this area, including that of the writer of these notes, though she must have been quite old at the time.  (Has anyone a picture of Flora?)

Angus hitches the fresher of the two Anthony horses to the light riding wagon-or to the sleigh when winter roads call for it-picks up the mail at the post office, and by six o'clock is on his way to the post office in Sydney River, his second at the one in Howie Center.  Then it's on to East Bay and a stop at Joe MacNeil's,  Joe the postman's.  (The store which housed that post office is now gone, but the MacNeil house is still there across from MacCormick School.)  The next stop is at the Maclellan's in Ben Eoin (Johnny Ben Eoin's old home) and then it's on to St Andrew's Channel, to Sandy MacIsaac's (Hector Sandy's).
About noon, Angus arrives at A.A.'s.  The driver for the next stage of the journey and a fresh horse are waiting.  There are three horses at the stable, one at the stable in Sydney, and the one which just arrived from Sydney.  Five horses in all.  And in the barn on the hill, there is Quincy A, a 'fast horse', a pleasure horse, who leaves the menial work of mail contract and farm to those Lesser Breeds stabled down below.

Annie, Angus Anthony's wife, climbs up onto the seat and takes the reins.  Since it is summer and he is not in school, 8-year old Alex climbs up alongside her.  To the onlooker he is just a boy delivering the mail with his mother; in his own mind ie is no doubt doing something else: heading west in a wagon train, perhaps, or riding shotgun for Wells-Fargo, and enjoying every minute of it.  (In late fall, winter, and spring, the western run will be made by Alex MacIsaac from the Rear: Alex Martin, brother to Joe and Danny).

The next stop is just a few fenceposts over the road, at the Big Pond Post Office kept by the Morrison's (Don MacGillivary and Sharise McKeigan's); along with the local mail, the Loch Lomond mail is dropped off here and Dan Davy McCuish (or later on, Willy McKeigan) will take it from there.  Now it's on to Murdoch MacLellan's in Big Pond Center (Alf MacLellan's), and then to Red Ranny MacDonald's in Middle Cape.  They don't drive down to Ranny's house, for the post office is in his little roadside store.  Now the horse is straining at the bit, in eager anticipation of hauling his majesty's mail and servants up and over Middle Cape Hill.  He is reined in at Gerry MacNeil's (his home was across the road from Tom MacNeil's)  in Irish vale.  And then it's on to the final stop, Conlon's in Irish Cove (Danny Cash's former home).  Here, at the Richmond County line, the mail contractor for the Irish Cove-St. Peters route takes over.  Exchanges are made and Annie and Alex head back to Big Pond.  Angus Rory Hamish is waiting at the stable with a fresh horse-Dexter, if he has his preference, for Dexter is his favourite-and soon he is back in the driver's seat and on his way to Sydney; sometimes he has company, a passenger who pays a fare of a dollar or thereabouts; and late in the evening he arrives in Sydney, transacts any necessary business, stables his horse and calls it a day.

(The Anthony's contracted to carry the mail for about $245.00 a month, Alex thinks.  Periodically the government called for tenders on the contract, much as it does for rural routes today, and in time the contract passed from the Anthony's to Peter MacKinnon, Peter Iain Peigi, from the Rear of Big Pond.)(Jack MacNeil)
 

Jack MacNeil
 

TEN THOUSAND STRONG!
 
He estimates that by the October 15 closing some ten thousand souls will have passed through, and sampled the fare of,  the TARTAN EAGLE restaurant.  Raymond Duprey, Manager, and head chef, is pleased with the support of the Big Pond community, visitors and indeed the press to his first season of operation. "My expectations were met and exceeded",  he told us as we nibbled on a generous and tasty wedge of fresh apple-cinnamon cake. Local reception and winter plans are characterized by the 'sold out' label attached to the Sea Wolf event scheduled for October 12. Similar 'theme' evenings of dining and entertainment are contemplated.  One idea he shared with us is a commemoration of the Edmond Fitzgerald, an ore ship that has become a legend after sinking in Lake Superior and, more recently, imortalized by Gordon Lightfoot.  If there is interest he will put on an evening of fine food and entertainment each month till he opens again in June of 1998.  "We also have three confirmed bookings for the Christmas season" he chortled and expects many more.  The really big days for him and staff were the Big Pond Concert and the Ben Eoin Fiddle and Folk Concert;  big menu items were Fish and Chips and the Fisherman's Platter.

READER'S VIEWS

The following e-mail was received on Sept.20:
Hi Dennis & Bernadette, To start I'd like to thank you on your work on the Big Pond Times. It's an easy way to keep up on some of what is happening back in Cape Breton. I don't subscribe but I read the online version (saves paper, and doesn't get lost by Canada Post). I wanted to comment on the Big Pond Council's endorsement of candidate for the upcoming election over what would seem to be an attempt to get special treatment regarding zoning and funding issues.  We only have to look to Canadian politics to see what happens when one area tries to gain special status.

I would also point out that voting for someone with only local support is throwing away your vote (since they wouldn't get support in other areas). Sure, it will add more publicity to the issue, but isn't the goal to solve the problem? Also, if a voter votes for someone over a single issue, what about the other issues a councillor will have to deal with during his term? Ralph.  p.s. I know I am likely to be biased towards Ivan since he is my father, but I think I make my decisions based on logic and not emotion.

Sun, 21 Sept. Ralph replied to our request for clarification:
I didn't read it in the Big Pond Times.  My understanding was that Ronnie McCarron is running in the election and his main campaign point is to further some of the issues of the Big Pond council.  I haven't seen any of his campaign materials (it's kind of hard when I'm in Ottawa). Is Ronnie not officially running?

Ralph Doncaster, Doncaster Consulting Inc.
email: ralph@doncaster.on.ca.
2816 Richmond Rd.
Ottawa, ON
K2B 6S5,
ph:(613)829-6597

The following is the Editor in Chief's reply:
Hello, Ralph. I'm the third editor on the Big Pond Times and Dennis forwarded your messages today. Yes, Ron McCarron is running for the District 14 seat. My understanding is that his campaign will focus on region-wide issues.  I just stepped down from the Community Council executive at the September meeting and there was never a mention of council endorsing any candidate. I would personally oppose such a move; it's not what the council does and in my eighteen years in Big Pond I do not recall political partisanship at that level. Incidentally, the last executive harboured at least three identifable political stripes and we worked together to spend Dingwall's money. Further, I hope the Times stays neutral as well; it's a community paper and we have a wide variety of political views in our area. Best, Don

AN EVENING WITH THE SEA WOLF -- SOLD OUT

Alex MacLean, Sea Captain (1858-1914) of East Bay, Cape Breton and his brother Captain Dan MacLean will be remembered and indeed celebrated on Sunday, October 12, 1997 at the TARTAN EAGLE beginning at 7:30pm.  Jack London's character the 'Sea Wolf' and his partner 'Death' Larson are based on these brothers from East Bay and their exploits along the Pacific coast from San Francisco to  the Bering Sea.  Raymond Duprey and staff will cook and serve a four-course meal based on ship's stores at the time and Don MacGillivray will share some facts and stories.

CORRECTION

Stan MacNeil's e-mail is macneils@cadvision.com
(Sorry, Don MacG)

This issue was brought to you by Bernadette MacPherson, Josephine McCarron, Don MacGillivray, Jack MacNeil,Sharise McKeigan, Dennis and Carol MacDonald, Pat Nelder, Malcie MacPhee, Ivan Doncaste.   Deadline for submissions to the November issue is October 24th.   Editor for Nov.is Don MacGillivray

The editor for October is either Dennis ( 828-3417) dennism@atcon.com or Bernadette (539-0036 ) salmaniw@fox.nstn.ca